Songfacts®:

• This is the fourth single from The Defamation of Strickland Banks, a concept album by British rapper/singer Plan B about a British soul vocalist who finds fame before getting sent to jail for a crime that he didn't commit. This song finds Banks stuck in his prison cell, feeling sorry for himself.
• The song's music video was directed by Daniel Wolfe and shows Banks (played by Plan B) during his time in prison, as well as flashbacks of his life before he was banged up. Actress Vicky McClure, who at the time was best known for her work in the films of Shane Meadows, plays Banks' girlfriend. She later found fame as Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in the BBC series Line of Duty.
• Ben Drew (aka Plan B) told the story of this song in an interview with Artist Direct: "Well, you've got this famous guy in prison who doesn't belong there. Because he's famous, he's a target for the queers, the murderers, and the rapists. I asked if I was in that position, what would I do? There are people out there trying to attack me. I'm not a killer. The first thing I'd do is stay in my cell and not come out. I'd grow my beard, not wash, and stink to the point where any rapist would find me so disgusting he wouldn't come near me. 'The Recluse' is about someone who's not coming out of his cell, not washing, not looking after himself, and growing a beard so he becomes repellent to anyone who would want to cause him harm. This character thinks that's going to stop them but it doesn't. That's why 'The Recluse' leads into ''Traded In My Cigarettes' where he makes the conscious decision to save up all his cigarettes and trade them for a shank to protect himself from all these people who want to do all this f---ed up s--t to him."